Overview & Reviews

Acura is an upscale automaker known for offering cars with impressive levels of luxury, features and performance. It's come a long way in a short time, however, as the history of Acura is relatively brief. Parent company Honda introduced the Acura brand to the U.S. market in 1986 in an effort to create a separate luxury division for its products. At first, it was just a two-car show: the Legend sedan, which was the first true Japanese luxury car sold in America, and the Integra sport coupe and sedan.

Though essentially a marketing creation for the North American market, the Acura brand was immediately successful. Consumers liked the features, performance and upscale image of Acura cars, along with the fact that Acuras were backed by Honda's reputation for reliability and low ownership costs. In 1991, Acura introduced its crown jewel: the all-aluminum NSX sports car, which offered performance close to that of other exotic cars while undercutting them in price.

As Acura's product line grew in the 1990s, however, the company struggled a bit. Some of its products were duds, and it risked alienating loyal customers when it replaced the Legend and Integra names with alphanumeric designations. The company jumped on the hot luxury SUV bandwagon in the mid-'90s with the SLX. Unfortunately, the SLX was just a rebadged version of an Isuzu SUV, and its quality did not match customers' expectations.

For the new millennium, Acura revamped its product range. An all-new SUV called the MDX debuted, sporting numerous family-friendly features, including a third-row seat. The Integra was replaced with the RSX sport coupe, and an all-new entry-level sport sedan called the TSX was introduced after that. A complete redesign of its most popular model, the midsize TL sedan, followed, as did a redesign of its flagship RL luxury sedan.

By mid-decade the NSX was gone, but Acura filled out its model lineup with the street-performance-oriented RDX compact crossover, the TSX wagon and the ZDX, a fastback-styled crossover that placed unique styling over practicality. Today Acura is still trying to find its ideal niche but there's no denying the quality of Acura's vehicles, nor their appealing mix of performance, technology and value.

User Reviews:

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  Simply less money more value - 2002 Acura MDX
  By wwong1600 - February 1 - 10:00 am

  Waht a great car. All the thins you want from an Suv and the things you dont want from a traditional Suv.

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  Excellent car for under $30,000!!! - 2003 Acura TL
  By Gordon w - February 1 - 10:00 am

  Best value in its class!!! Everything standard!!! Superb quality!!! Engine is wonderful... Faster than the competition!!! I own one and theres only one car Id rather have than this. An ACURA RSX!!!

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  Now has 214k - 1996 Acura TL
  By upotn pt - February 1 - 7:40 am

  Back on 2/16/04 I wrote a review when the car had 154k. Well, it now has 214K! Its getting a bit tired now, uses a bit of oil, leaks a bit of oil, bunch more rattles and sqeaks. HOWEVER you cant go wrong with a first generation TL!! Best car I have ever owned. I am in the process of looking to buy for another 96-98 TL with say 100k miles. Ill be giving my TL to my oldest teenager. He loves the car.

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  Best car for the money - 2008 Acura TSX
  By Fun2drive - January 31 - 5:04 pm

  I am coming off a Mazda 3i 2005 and I loved that car. I was looking at the Honda Accord, Camry SE, and the VW Jetta in addition to the 2008 TSX. I test drove all the above and hands down the TSX drove the best. It was the fastest and the best handling. Besides driving excellent, this car has all the extras (standard) that you would want. My favorites are the Bluetooth and auxiliary input for your iPod. Also, I am not sure what people expect out a stock radio but the TSXÂ’s radio is great. I got the car in black and tinted the windows and this baby looks great. In my opinion the TSX is the best car for the money right now.

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  Impressed - 2008 Acura TSX
  By One Happy Customer - January 31 - 4:38 pm

  I have owned 4 Hondas (3 Accords and 1 Civic), so I knew Acura was an easy choice. However, I have been surprised by the overall superior experience Ive had in driving this car. I also considered the Infiniti G35, BMW 325xi, and Audi A4 but found that with comparable options, their price tags were far too high when compared to the TSX. Solid performance, exceptional build quality, great fuel economy, and brand cache at "value" pricing. Who could ask for more?

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  2nd TL - 2008 Acura TL
  By SeymourClearly - January 31 - 3:39 pm

  This is my 2nd TL. My previous TL was an 06, same base model. I grew up in an automotive family and have more automotive knowledge than most owners. My last couple of cars were a Porsche 944, an SHO, Maxima SE, a Lexis IS and a TSX. (Our other car is a Highlander AWD.) Simply the TL is the most satisfying car I have owned. The drive, the comfort, the reliability and relative economy of ownership are exceptional! The car does it all. Its a great highway cruiser - comfortable for four adults although a little tight in the back, responsive on a winding road and very quiet unless you jack up the fabulous audio system. Best bang for the buck!

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  I LOVE this car! - 2016 Acura ILX
  By Shane Gochenouer - January 31 - 1:20 pm

  This car has met all of my expectations and surpassed most of them, it is everything I was looking for at a very reasonable price point. I previously owned a 2014 Civic EX 4dr, which I bought, at least partially, because Civics are traditionally modders, with a lot of potential for customization. Not so much the case (mechanically) anymore, unless you get the SI, but I work in the city and bumper to bumper commuting with a manual, forget it. At any rate, the ILX offered everything I wanted my Civic to become, sporty, both in appearance and performance (big emphasis on performance), as well as more luxury and Honda/Acuras legendary reliability. I did a LOT of research before pulling the trigger on the purchase and I just dont think that anything out there can touch the ILX if price is at all an issue for you. Go to Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Infiniti, Lexus websites and "Build and Price" their entry level offerings with same/similar features and you will see what I mean. In NONE of those cases are you getting anywhere near the ILX in features, performance, quality or reliability for under 40K (the model I bought, w/ premium package, stickers at $30,820 with destination charges). If you are looking to buy a status symbol, this isnt the car for you, but if you want luxury quality and performance combined with unmatched reliability, this is definitely worth a look and test drive, I consider it a class leading example of what I call "practical luxury". Also worth mention, I had a 2015 ILX base model (with the 2.0) loaner for a day and a half while the dealership installed a remote start and was NOT impressed, the 2015 would not have won me over, I would still be driving the Civic, so if you have an earlier model and werent pleased or it didnt meet your expectations, give the 2016 a test drive. The only Cons I have to offer are getting into and out of the vehicle (at 511" with short legs and a long torso) can be slightly awkward and low speed crawl can be chunky at times (for the first week till you get used to shift points) however from the reviews I have read on its competitors it still excels in this area (I havent test driven any of them). UPDATE: After 8 months driving it every day, I still love this car. My only takeaway after 8 months is that without Navi the 2 screen layout can feel pretty redundant, but thats such a first world problem I dont even feel good complaining about it. Sport mode is awesome, whether or not you use the paddle shifters, which by the way can be used in normal drive mode as well.

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  None better for the price - 1994 Acura Vigor
  By Mark Louis - January 31 - 11:04 am

  A great achievement in engineering. At the time of release, the Vigor just didnt attract a big enough audience to keep up the pace with the lexus 300 series (which wasnt built as well as the Vigor at the time). This car has the total package for the mula, and still outperforms many modern sedans. Ive driven many cars, and this design is very impressive. They are quickly turning into classic collecter items all over. Classic lines, fun to drive, and reliable even over 200k. Test drive a Vigor if you ever spot one for sale. If it doesnt impress you, then it hasnt been maintained well. I will have this car until they dont make parts for it anymore!

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  Fun of owning a TSX - 2009 Acura TSX
  By libster - January 29 - 10:46 pm

  The ads are not aiming at a young, spirited 65 year old male. Previous 2005 TL owner, love the new TSX. Front seat wraps around and supports well, the handling is taut but not to stiff, acceleration is adequate. Back seat a little too tight for 3 men over 170 lbs, the cd should have more than room than 1 disc. Sound quality is crisp on a trip from Boca Raton, FL to Boston average mpg 34.5 excellent, around the city mpg approx. 24. I kept within 70 mph. Good mileage can be achieved, if ego does not get in the way! People on cape cod and in the city have favorably mentioned the new styling. I do not feel add the old model is better, this is new car with a different cachet!

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  Probably best SUV for today - 2004 Acura MDX
  By minnie999 - January 28 - 10:00 am

  Performance has been excellent except for gas milage. Extremely safe and fun to drive. Absolutely no manufacturing defects.